Rugeley Power Station

Customer: Persimmon Homes

Value: £4.8 million

VHE carried out the reclamation of the former Rugeley A Power Station in Staffordshire to enable a residential-led regeneration project. The 84 week contract entailed reclamation of approximately 31 hectares (76 acres).

Throughout the scheme, VHE maximised the re-use and recycling of site-won materials, reducing the requirement for primary aggregates by around 800,000 tonnes and leading to reductions in road haulage, quarry and landfill costs. The project involved a total of 637,000 cubic metres of bulk earthworks.

The concrete structure of the power station had been demolished, leaving some 40,000 cubic metres of concrete to be dealt with along with numerous ash lagoons containing approximately 89,000 cubic metres of pulverised fuel ash (PFA). Recycled material was used in a two-tier system of low fill and upper capping material to create a two metre deep protective cover for the site. Following screening, 25% of the PFA was sold on to a block manufacturer.